Recorded on September 19, 2024
Teacher compensation is a key driver of teacher recruitment and retention, and has become a top priority for states across the country, many of which have proposed or passed legislation seeking to raise minimum salaries.
Despite growing public and political support for improving teacher pay, school systems must navigate the tension between the push to pay teachers more and shrinking district budgets in the wake of declining K–12 enrollment and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds.
This webinar recording features a panel of state and district leaders from across the country who have been tackling this issue on the ground to learn about how they have engaged the public, explored approaches to redesigning salary structures, and considered approaches to raising revenue or expense tradeoffs to cover the cost.
Webinar Presenters:
- Dana Grayson, Director of Teacher Workforce, WestEd
- Sarah Barzee, Senior Director of State Education Services, WestEd
- Tara Bergfeld, Senior Education Finance Associate, WestEd
Featured Speakers:
Dr. Mark Holodick was confirmed as Delaware’s Secretary of Education in January 2022. Before joining the Delaware Department of Education, Dr. Holodick served for two years as senior leadership specialist for the University of Delaware’s Delaware Academy for School Leadership (DASL). In this role, he coordinated the Governor’s Institute for School Leadership and served as lead faculty for DASL’s Principal Preparation Program.
He also conducted research in collaboration with school districts and charter schools, and designed and facilitated research-informed professional development for school leaders. From 2009–2020, Dr. Holodick served as superintendent of the Brandywine School District following a long history with the district as a student, teacher, assistant principal, and principal.
Prior to being named Brandywine School District’s superintendent, he was principal at Concord High School as well as at a blended middle and high school in the Delmar School District. Degrees and Certifications: Doctorate in Educational Leadership: Administration and Policy from the University of Delaware; Master of Educational School Leadership from Wilmington University; Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education and History from West Virginia Wesleyan University.
His research focuses on mathematics achievement and education interventions for struggling students.
Kelly Meadows was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland where she attended Baltimore County Public Schools, the University of Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University. She is currently serving as the Assistant State Superintendent of the Division of Educator Effectiveness at the Maryland State Department of Education. In her role, she oversees educator preparation, licensure, and the approval of K–12 private schools. She has served in many roles at the Maryland State Department of Education over the past decade. Before joining the State Department, Meadows spent 14 years working at the Kennedy Krieger Schools serving special education students as a paraprofessional, teacher, assistive technology specialist, and educational technology coordinator.
Meadows and her team are engaged in the implementation of Pillar II of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, which focuses on developing a high-quality and diverse teacher workforce. Pillar II establishes a Career Ladder for Educators that allows teachers to stay in the classroom while assuming teacher leadership roles and salary increases associated with movement up the ladder.
Dr. Sara Hale is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Milford School District. Her expertise lies in budget development, financial management, school district operations, and an unwavering commitment to educational success in Delaware. Dr. Hale holds a Doctor of Business Administration, a Master of Business Administration, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Wilmington University.
As COO, Dr. Hale oversees all financial operations within the district, including finance, payroll, and benefits. In addition, she directs program operations for the Buildings and Grounds, Child Nutrition, Technology and Transportation departments, providing complete oversight of the day-to-day operational departments of the district.
Dr. Hale has served public education in Delaware for the past ten years and has been involved in many state-level committees and task forces working to improve the state’s educational systems for all students.
Erin Lair grew up in a rural community in Eastern Oregon. With 15 years in education as a teacher and administrator, she returned to Eastern Oregon as the superintendent of her hometown. Previously, Erin held positions in Idaho and Oregon school districts ranging from 500–6,000 students.
She also served as a School Improvement Director for one of Oregon’s mid-sized Education Service Districts (ESDs); there she served 21 districts totaling over 32,000 students. Her passion for education is as a critical driver of rural economic development—both within the immediate workforce impact and the longer-term impact on rural students. Further, Erin has leaned into the national conversation regarding teacher compensation as an imperative step toward recasting public education as a viable and critical industry.
As superintendent, she led the first district in Oregon to adjust to a $60,000 minimum teacher salary. When not in the office, she and her husband live on a small, commercial cherry orchard with their two elementary-aged girls.
Dr. Victor Diaz is an Organization Development Specialist at WestEd, who spearheads the design and execution of projects aimed at bolstering the effectiveness and efficiency of SEAs. Diaz’s expertise in organization development is rooted in more than 20 years of experience in public education, including leading the human resources departments in two Phoenix-area school districts while serving on the Governing Board of the Osborn Elementary School District.
His diverse experiences in building a highly effective and diverse educator workforce include assisting in the development of new certification structures for early childhood educators in California, supporting the Arizona Department of Education’s Educator Retention Task Force, and investigating barriers that limit access to scholarships designed to increase the number of certified educators in Nevada.
Prior to his role at WestEd, he led a nationally recognized teacher retention effort that resulted in more than 90 percent of educators retained in schools he supported, over a three-year period, while revamping compensation structures to become more strategically aligned to the changing nature and needs of the educator workforce.
